Footwear cleats device

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/933,241, filed Sep. 19, 2022, entitled “Footwear Cleats Device”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent Application Ser. No. 63/246,361, filed Sep. 21, 2021, entitled “Footwear Cleats Device,” both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

The present invention relates to footwear, and more particularly, is related to an anti-slip device.

Use of wearable traction cleats is currently limited by users' ability to quickly, easily, and safely don and doff the cleats when transitioning from outdoors to indoors environments and vice versa. Specifically, traditional traction cleats, made of metal or hard plastics, are designed to be worn outdoors to provide stability and traction in icy and slick conditions, whereby making an unsafe situation when the user walks back indoors on to smooth floors and non pervious surfaces creating a slip-and-fall risk.

Unfortunately, doffing and donning traction cleats, for many users, is cumbersome, time consuming and difficult due to many physical barriers including but not limited to strength and motor skills, balance issues, vision loss and physical range of motion.

Many existing removable cleats involve the user having to remove an entire piece of molded footwear from their shoe in order to disengage the cleats which are embedded in, or attached to, the footwear device. This may be dangerous and create a user fall risk. For example, to transition from walking outside on an icy surface to walking inside a building, the user would typically either sit down, or bend over and balance on one leg, while trying to pull off the footwear from their shoe. Many types of one piece footwear devices are tight fitting in order to provide stability on the shoe, making it even more challenging to remove cleats from the shoe. It may not only be difficult and dangerous to remove cleats, it may also be dangerous to ambulate on slick, nonporous floors with the cleats engaged.

In implementations where cleats are attached to a band of elastic webbing, manipulation of the cleats may be challenging due to the tension of the elastic webbing around the shoe. In addition, the cleats may be too aggressive to be used on most sidewalks, creating a painful, dangerous, and off-balance gait pattern when ambulating. Therefore, there is a need in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a footwear cleats device. Briefly described, the present invention is directed to a slip-and-fall prevention footwear accessory having a first strap configured to wrap around a footwear upper portion and sole at a ball portion of the footwear. A second strap has an attachment end rotatably connected to a first end of the first strap and a cleat region with a plurality of cleats. A first fastener rotatably connects the first strap and the second strap. A second fastener adjusts the length of a loop portion of the first strap around the footwear. The accessory facilitates temporary relocation of the second strap from a first position arranging the cleat region adjacent to the sole of the footwear to a second position arranging the cleat region over the footwear upper portion away from the sole portion. Other systems, methods and features of the present invention will be or become apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art upon examining the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, and features be included in this description, be within the scope of the present invention and protected by the accompanying claims.

The following definitions are useful for interpreting terms applied to features of the embodiments disclosed herein, and are meant only to define elements within the disclosure.

As used within this disclosure, “substantially,” means “very nearly,” or “within typical manufacturing tolerances.” In some instances, for example, when referring to shapes, “substantially” indicates the overall shape, for example, a substantially rectangular slot or shaft may have a longer length than width, but have rounded ends or edges. A substantially flat/planar surface may include a slight curve or contour.

As used within this disclosure, “footwear” refers to a shoe or boot worn by a person. The “ball portion” of the footwear refers to a cross section of the footwear corresponding to midfoot and/or forefoot of the wearer.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

Exemplary embodiments of the device of the present invention are drawn to a footwear cleats device attachable to footwear, for example, a shoe or a boot. The device is generally attached to the footwear being wrapped around a forward portion of the footwear corresponding roughly to a ball of the foot of the wearer, with a bottom portion passing under the sole of the footwear, and a top portion wrapped around the top of the footwear, for example, over a laces portion. A relocatable cleat region may be attached to the device in a first (usage) position, where one or more cleats of the cleat region are under the sole of the footwear and protruding outward from the sole, and a second (storage) position, where the cleats are fastened over the top portion of the footwear (“footwear upper”).

is a lateral view of a first exemplary embodiment of a footwear cleats device. Under the first embodiment, the footwear cleats devicecontains five major components: a shoe strap, for example, made of hypalon; a fastener, for example, made of glass filled nylon; a swivel piece, for example, made of glass filled nylon; a cleat strap, for example, made of hypalon; and a cleat region, for example made of rubber and steel cleats. It should be noted that while the first embodiment depicts five components, in alternative embodiments there may be two, three, four, six, or more components. The shoe strapincludes a shoe strap swivel endand a shoe strap fastener endat an opposite end of the shoe strap. The shoe strap swivel endnon-removably attaches to a swivel piece pin. For example, the swivel piece pinmay pass through an opening of the shoe strapat the shoe strap swivel end. The shoe strapattaches at the shoe strap fastener endto a fastener bottom side, for example, via a pair of fit loop pins. The shoe strapremovably attaches to the fastener bottom sideon a shoe loop pinat a shoe strap intermediate pointof the shoe strapbetween the shoe strap swivel endand the shoe strap fastener end.

From the shoe strap swivel end, the shoe strappasses through an aperture of a swivel piece loopportion of the swivel piece, forming a shoe strap shoe loopthat wraps around a front portion of a shoe. The shoe strapcontinues on to the terminus at the shoe strap fastener endforming a shoe strap fit loop. The shoe strap fit loopis formed by a portion of the shoe strapthat partially overlaps the shoe strap shoe loop. The shoe strap fit loopis used to adjust the tension of the shoe straparound the shoe, for example, by inserting the shoe loop pinthrough a selected one of a plurality of shoe loop pin holes (not shown) in the shoe strapaccording to a desired size of the shoe strap shoe loop.

The cleat straprotatably attaches to the swivel piece pinat a cleat strap swivel end. At the other end, the cleat strapremovably attaches to a cleat strap pinlocated on the fasteneron a fastener top sideat a cleat strap fastener end. For example, the swivel piece pinmay be inserted through an aperture at the cleat strap swivel endof the cleat strapsuch that the cleat strap swivel endis secured to the swivel piece pin, yet the cleat strapmay rotate freely around the swivel piece pin. The cleat strapattaches to the fastenerin two configurations: A first configuration where the cleat regionis adjacent to the sole of the shoe and cleats project outward from the sole; the second configuration where the cleat strapis rotated around the swivel piece pinand spans across the top of the shoe, so the cleat regionextends across a top of a shoe, rather than across the sole.

is a schematic diagram illustrating a detailed view of the cleat strapunder the first exemplary embodiment. The cleat regionmay be integral with the cleat strap. Both the cleat regionand the cleat strapmay be integrally formed of the same piece of material, for example, hypalon material. Examples of other types of material that may be used for the cleat regionand the cleat strapinclude, but are not limited to, silicone rubber, thermoplastic rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, PVC, or nylon, among others. Hypalon is a synthetic rubber that is unaffected by extreme temperatures, resists abrasions, does not get brittle with exposure and resists chemicals. Hypalon also has stretch properties. Holes are punched in to the hypalon material of the shoe strapand the cleat strap fastener endto allow for an individualized fit, for example, like a watch strap. The hypalon material may be preferable to other materials, for example, because hypalon may be cut to length and the ends will not fray, compared with strapping made of other materials, for example, nylon materials. The shoe strapmay be formed of the same material as the cleat strap.

A plurality of cleatsare affixed to the cleat region. Whileshows eleven cleats, the number of cleatsmay be different according to various factors, for example, the size of the cleat region, the size of the cleat, and the particular application for the cleat strap(for example, snow, ice, mud, among others), Whileshows uniformly sized cleats, in alternative embodiments there may more than one type of cleatsin the cleat region. For example, there may be an outer ring of a first type of cleatshaving a wider contact region to provide stability, where the outer ring surrounds an inner region with a second type of cleatshaving a narrower contact region (sharper cleat) to better grip the walking surface. The cleatsmay be “off the shelf,” for example, as supplied by the manufacturer EONPOW Ice Grips steel studs (see www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018UDZT1I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&p sc=1) and are made of a plastic pop-in cleats surrounding an alloyed steel material pin.

The cleatsmay be positioned laterally from left to right in three rows substantially parallel to the length of the cleat region. Under the first embodiment, the top row has 4 cleats, the middle row has three cleatsand the bottom row has four cleats. The cleats are arranged to allow near to equal distribution across the cleat regionsurface forming a grid like pattern. Different embodiments may have different arrangements of cleatsin the cleat region.

As shown by, the cleatsmay be affixed to the cleat regionby a cleat pinpunching through the cleat region. The cleat regionmay be located between a cleat baseand a cleat washer. The cleat washermay surround the cleat pinand a protruding cleat pin tip.

Cleatsmay be made out of other materials and have various lengths, weights, and durability, for example, including titanium or stainless steel. While the cleat strapgenerally remains rotatably affixed to the swivel piece pin during operation, the cleat strapmay be removable from the swivel pieceat the swivel piece pinto allow an interchange of the entire cleat strapwith cleatshaving different lengths, configurations, and cleat materials for different types of terrain or weather conditions. The entire cleat regionmay be replaced by swapping out the cleat strap. Alternatively, or in addition, the cleatsthemselves may be individually interchanged, for example, by cleatsmay pop-in/pop out of the cleat region.

The cleat strapand cleat regionmay be cast molded to allow the cleatsand the cleat regionto be integrally formed and the cleat baseencased in the material with only the cleat pin tipprotruding outward from the surface of the cleat region.

The footwear cleats deviceis intended to remain fixed on the shoe inside the shoe strap shoe loop, whether the cleat strapis positioned across the top of the shoe as inor across the sole of the shoe as in. The fastenermakes it efficient to position the cleat strapin both an under-shoe (use) position () and an over-shoe (storage) position () without significantly contributing to bulk and weight of the footwear, which is desirable as it requires less user strength and manipulation skills. Advantageously, the fastenerprovides three functions. The fastenersecures the footwear spikes deviceon the shoe using the shoe loop pinand the fit loop pinsand to secure the cleat strapin both (use and storage) positions at the cleat strap pin.

The footwear cleats devicemay be implemented in both child and adult sizes to accommodate various sizes for the cleat region. For example, the cleat regionmay have a thickness in the range of 0.1 inch to 0.3 inches, a width in the range of 0.5 inches to 2.0 inches, and a length in the range of 3.0 inches to 7.0 inches, as appropriate to fit the specific shoe of the wearer, which may range from child sizes to adult sizes.

In alternative embodiments, the fastenermay be implemented differently using other types of fasteners.shows magnetic fastenersandshows hook-and-loop fasteners. For example, hook- and loop fastenersmay be convenient if molded into the shoe strapand cleat strapor otherwise attached to the shoe strapand the cleat strap. It should be noted, however, the magnetsand the hook-and-loop fastenersmay not attach securely when exposed to excessive dirt, snow, ice, mud, and debris commonly found underfoot.

shows an alternative embodiment where the shoe strap fastener endattaches to the shoe strapat the shoe strap intermediate pointwith strap snap fasteners. Other types of fasteners may also be used according to the desired application, for example, but not limited to a bullet fastener, a buckle fastener, a hinged clasp, a slide lock fastener. In general, fasteners that are unlikely to be clogged with dirt, snow, ice, or mud may be preferred.

Once the footwear cleats deviceis adjusted to the user's shoe, the fastenermay be easily accessible towards the top or side of the shoe/foot. This is important as it may allow use of long handled adaptive equipment, for example, a reacher or a dressing stick to release the cleat strap fastener endfrom the cleat strap pin. This may make the footwear cleats deviceaccessible to users who have difficulty bending over, for example, users with decreased range of motion, balance, shortness of breath, etc.

The cleat strapis configured to swivel around the swivel piece pinand flip down and lay across the sole of the foot with the cleatsprojecting outwards towards the ground as shown in the under-shoe (use) position inand swivel and flip upwards with the cleats facing away from the top of the shoe, preventing damage to shoes as shown in the over-shoe (storage) position. In addition, this feature may provide visual feedback to users so they may see the current configuration of the footwear cleats deviceand if the cleatsare engaged or disengaged for improved user safety.

shows a second exemplary embodiment of a footwear cleats devicefrom a cross-section view. A flexible shoe strapis configured to wrap around a footwear (shoe or boot) upperand shoe sole, for example, around the ball portion of a foot of the wearer. A buckleis configured to secure the shoe straparound the footwear. A shoe strap fastenerand a cleat strap fastenerattach to the shoe strap.

A cleat strapincludes a cleat regionthat is configured to hold a plurality of cleatsat an intermediate portion of the cleat strap. A cleat strap first endremovably and/or rotatably attaches to the buckle, and a cleat strap second endremovably and/or rotatably attaches to a cleat strap fastener.

shows a flattened top perspective of the flexible shoe strap. Under the exemplary second embodiment, the shoe strapmay be, for example, on the order of 14-18 inches long, between 0.6 and 1.5 inches wide, and on the order of 0.05-0.15 inches thick. These dimensions may vary according to the size of the footwear, among other considerations. The shoe straphas a loop end, and a non-loop end. The shoe straphas a plurality of perforations through a top side to a bottom side, including a plurality of shoe strap holeshaving a substantially circular cross section shape at the loop end, and a plurality of elongated shoe strap slotsextending from the non-loop endextending at least past a mid-point of a length of the shoe strap. The number of shoe strap holesand shoe strap slotsis variable, depending upon the size of the footwear intended for use with the device. Each shoe strap holemay have a substantially circular cross section shape, having a radius sized to fit around the fastener shaft upperand around the fastener shaft lower(). Each shoe strap slotmay have a substantially rectangular cross section shape, sized to fit around the fastener shaft lower() and/or the buckle horn shaft() without rotating.

shows a flattened top perspective of the flexible cleat strap. The cleat straphas a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The cleat straphas a cleat regiondisposed at an intermediate portion between the first and second ends. The cleat regionis configured to accommodate a plurality of cleats. The cleatsof the second embodiment may be substantially similar to the previously described cleatsof the first embodiment. Whiledepicts the cleat regionlocated at a middle portion of the cleat strap, in alternative embodiments the cleat regionmay be offset toward either the first or second end of the cleat strap.

The cleat straphas a two perforated regions on opposite sides of the cleat region, each perforated region having plurality of cleat strap holes. The number of cleat strap holeson either side of the cleat regionis variable, depending upon the size of the cleat regionand/or the footwear intended for use with the device. Each cleat strap holehas a substantially circular cross section shape, having a radius sized to fit around the fastener shaft upper() and/or the buckle horn(). The round cleat strap holesfacilitate the cleat straprotating around the buckle horn() and/or the fastener shaft upper().

For example, the cleat strapmay be, but is not limited to on the order of 6-10 inches in total length including the cleat region. The cleat regionmay be on the order of 1.6-2.6 inches long. The cleat strapmay be on the order of 1 inch wide, while the cleat regionmay be on the order of 1.75 inches wide. The cleat strapis 1/16 in thick. The cleat regionmay be approximately 0.25 inches thick, and may generally be thicker than the rest of the cleat strap, as the cleatssurround the cleat strap at the cleat regionwith an approximate thickness of ¼ inch.

Whiledepicts the cleat regionbeing substantially wider than the cleat strap perforated regions, in alternative embodiments the cleat regionmay be substantially the same width as the perforated regions.

respectively show top and side views of the buckle. A base portion of the bucklemay be a substantially flat buckle plate. Under the second embodiment, the buckle plate profile from a top view () may be substantially rectangular at first end and tapered to a rounded top at a second end. In alternative embodiments, the buckle platemay be slightly curved to approximate the curve of a footwear upper portion(). Likewise, the profile shape of the buckle platemay differ in alternative embodiments, for example, being more triangular, oval, or rectangular, among other profile shape. The buckle plateincludes substantially rectangular buckle slots (apertures)that pass through the buckle plate. The buckle slotsaccommodate the shoe strapto be looped through the buckle plate. The shoe strap loop endis removably attached to the shoe strap fastener. The shoe strapmay be loosened or tightened according to the strap holeselected to attach to the shoe strap fastener, thereby adjusting the position of the loop endwith respect to the buckle.

For convenience, a first substantially planar surface of the buckle plateconfigured to face toward the footwear is referred to as the interior surface, and a second substantially planar surface of the buckle plateopposite the buckle plate interior surface is referred to as the buckle plate exterior surface.

A buckle hornis attached to the exterior of the buckle plate. The buckle horn is disposed near the tip of the tapered end of the buckle plate, and protrudes outwardly from the buckle plateexterior surface and extends in a direction substantially normal to the buckle plate exterior surface. The buckle hornincludes a horn tip flangecapping an end portion of the buckle horn shaft. The horn tip flangemay have a profile shaped to retain the shoe strap() and cleat strap() that have been slipped over the horn tip flangeto engage the buckle horn shaft. For example, the horn tip flangemay have a substantially oblong or elliptical profile, among other possible shapes. A horn mid flangehaving, for example, a substantially circular profile, is disposed around the buckle horn shaftat a mid portion of the buckle horn shaftbetween the buckle plateand the horn tip flange. The horn mid flangemay help prevent the straps,from sticking to each other. A buckle horn upperis disposed between the horn mid flangeand the horn tip flange, and a buckle horn loweris disposed between the horn mid flangeand the buckle plate.

The surface area of the horn mid flangemay be significantly larger than the profile area of the horn tip flange. The horn mid flangeis arranged to secure the non-loop end() of the shoe strap() between the buckle plateand the horn mid flange. For example, a shoe strap slot() may be slipped over the horn mid flange. The horn mid flangeis preferably sized to prevent the cleat strap holes() from being slipped over the horn mid flange. The buckle horn shaft upper() disposed between the horn tip flange() and the horn mid flange() may have a circular cross section shape to allow the cleat strapto rotate around the buckle horn shaft, while still being secured by the horn tip flange. The buckle horn shaft lowerdisposed between the horn mid flangeand the buckle platemay have also have a substantially circular cross section, although in alternative embodiments (not shown) the buckle horn shaft lowermay have a substantially rectangular cross section shape to prevent the shoe strapfrom rotating around the buckle horn shaft lower. Note, the horn mid flangeand/or the fastener mid flangemay be omitted in alternative embodiments, and are not shown in.

The buckle hornmay be integrally formed with the buckle plate, or may be formed separately from the buckle plateand attached to the buckle plate, for example using an adhesive, among other attachment means.

Under the second embodiment, exemplary dimensions for the buckle hornmay be, but are not limited to the following. The buckle platemay have a length of 1¾ inch by width of 1¼ inch at the slotted end with a thickness on the order of ¼ inch. The buckle hornmay have a ½ inch length and a diameter of ¼ inch at the upper portionand a diameter of ½ inch wide at, both on the order of ¼ inch thick. The horn tip flangeis ⅜ inch long, ¼ inch wide at center and tapered at both ends, and about ⅛ inch thick. The horn mid flange, may be ¾ inch in circumference and between 1/16-⅛ inches thick. The bucklemay be formed by various conventional means, for example, molding, 3D printing, among others. The fastenersand/or bucklemay be formed of a rigid or semi-rigid material such as plastic or metal. If metal is used, it is preferably a rust resistant metal or otherwise treated to resist rust and/or corrosion. Alternatively, the portions of the buckle, for example the buckle plate, may be formed of a semi-rigid material (such as a stiff rubber) with sufficient flexibility that the buckle platemay conform (for example, under tension from the shoe strapand/or the cleat strap) to the contours of the footwear upper.

The shoe strap fastenerand a cleat strap fastenerattach to the shoe strap. The shoe strap fasteneris used to removably fasten the shoe strap loop endto an interior portion of the shoe strap. The cleat strap fasteneris used to removably fasten the cleat strapto the shoe strap. Under the second embodiment, the shoe strap fastenerand the cleat strap fastenermay be substantially identical, for example, as shown by the fastenerof. In alternative embodiments, the shoe strap fastenerand the cleat strap fastenermay be distinctly configured.

A fastener shaft lower portionis attached to a base flange. The fastenerincludes a top flangeat an end portion of a fastener shaft upper portion. The top flangemay have a profile shaped to retain the shoe strapor cleat strapthat have been slipped over the top flangeto engage the fastener upper shaft. For example, the top flangemay have a substantially oblong or elliptical profile, among other possible shapes A fastener mid flangehaving, for example, a substantially circular profile shape, is disposed between the fastener shaft upperand the fastener shaft lowerbetween the base flangeand the top flange. For the cleat strap fastener, the fastener mid flangemay help prevent the straps,from sticking to each other. For the shoe strap fastener, the fastener mid flangemay help prevent looped portions of the shoe strapfrom sticking to each other.

The profile area of the fastener mid flangemay be significantly larger than the profile area of the fastener top flange. The fastener mid flangeis arranged to secure the shoe strapbetween the fastener base flangeand the fastener mid flange. For example, a shoe strap slotmay be slipped over the fastener mid flange. The fastener top flangeis preferably sized to allow the cleat strap holesor the shoe strap holesto be removably slipped over the fastener top flange. The fastener shaft uppermay have a circular cross section shape to allow the cleat strapto rotate around the fastener shaft upper, while still being secured by the fastener top flange. In contrast, the fastener shaft lowermay have a substantially rectangular cross section shape to prevent the shoe strapfrom rotating around the fastener shaft lower.

The shoe strapand cleat strapare each preferably formed of a material that allows the shoe strap to flex in directions normal to its length, but to not stretch substantially along its length, for example, by less than 5%, and preferably less than 2%. The shoe strap, the cleat strap, and the cleat regionmay be formed of the same material previously described for their counterparts,,of the first embodiment, described previously, for example, hypalon material.

The shoe strap non-loop endis configured to attach to the buckle horn. The shoe strap loop endis configured to be adjustably looped through the buckle slots, and secured by a shoe strap fastener.

Either end of the cleat strapmay rotatably attach to the buckle horn. The opposite end of the cleat strapremovably attaches to the cleat strap fastenerlocated on an opposite side of the shoe upper. For example, the buckle hornmay be inserted through a cleat strap holesuch that the cleat strapis secured to the buckle horn, yet the cleat strapmay rotate freely around the buckle horn. The cleat strapattaches to the cleat strap fastenerand the buckle hornin two configurations: A first configuration shown inwhere the cleat regionis adjacent to the footwear soleand the cleatsproject outward from the sole; the second configuration where the cleat strapis rotated around the buckle hornand spans across the footwear upper, so the cleat regionextends across a top of a footwear upper, rather than across the sole, as shown in.

The footwear cleats devicemay be implemented in both child and adult sizes to accommodate various sizes for the cleat region. In alternative embodiments, the buckleand/or the strap fasteners,may be implemented using other types of fasteners according to the desired application, for example, magnetic fasteners hook-and-loop fasteners, snaps, a bullet fastener, a hinged clasp, and a slide lock fastener, among others. In general, fasteners that are unlikely to be clogged with dirt, snow, ice, or mud may be preferred.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.